Looking for recommendations on books on the air war against Reich oil production

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

I recently purchased the following book sight unseen:

Target: Hitler's Oil: Allied Attacks on German Oil Supplies 1939-1945, by Ronald C. Cooke & Roy Conyers Nesbit, William Kimber & Co. Limited, London, copyright 1985.

As I generally do, I started with the bibliography and sources. There are listed 3 pages of books, including the United States Strategic Bombing Survey, which I consider primary material. Archival sources were all from the PRO and oddly seemed to be pretty much restricted to the 1940-1941 period. Perhaps the books cited were adequate for the later war years and the authors needed to seek out primary sources for the early war effort possibly inadequately covered by the noted books. This gave me a bit of a queasy feeling. Also, while USAAF missions are mentioned, the book appears to have a heavy RAF slant.

What I was looking for was a book that covered the backbone of the developing strategy, the various attacks, detailed information on the decline of oil production over time, and its impact on the Luftwaffe. The book lacks the detailed information, which certainly should have been available at the PRO and/or NARA. And, alas, the Me 262 is only mentioned once, which also leaves a yawning hole.

Admittedly, I've only glanced through the book. Chapter titles are good and the book seems to cover its material in a professional manner. It also has a decent index. Can anyone give me an assessment of the book?

Now, given what I'd hoped to find, can anyone recommend better works, hopefully ones citing greater use of archival material and truly covering Allied missions in a balanced manner, both USAAF and RAF, as well as the impact on the Reich/Luftwaffe?

Regards,
Richard

[edwest]

Dear Richard,


This is a complex subject which has never been fully covered in any single book to my knowledge. A totally neglected, in my view, component was the global I.G. Farben chemical cartel. The world's largest chemical company at the time. Germany had coal and could turn it into gasoline, aviation fuel and lubricants. The link between Standard Oil and I.G. Farben is only partially known but there was a relationship between the two that lasted throughout the war.

I offer the following information reluctantly but I trust the footnotes will be helpful to you and other researchers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_Cam...f_World_War_II


The following was published on July 29, 1945 in Sunday morning newspapers in the US after clearance by the Office of War Information.


"Improved techniques for the production of synthetic petroleum products.

"Hydrogenation plants operating at extremely high pressures.

"New catalysts permitting the Germans to convert oil to high octane gasoline more quickly than was known here.

"Details on German refinements in the gas synthesis method of producing liquid fuels and lubricants from coal."



Best,
Ed

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Ed,

That's a very detailed list of attacks on Reich oil production. Thank you. However, in looking over the references, nothing stands out as being a good overview with statistics of the oil campaign and its effects over time. On the one hand, too much data (lost in the weeds), while on the other, nothing to put it into perspective.

Regards,
Richard

[leonventer]

Hi Richard,

Here are a few more resources, in case you weren't already aware of them. Unfortunately, none provide coverage as extensive and complete as what you're looking for.

1) "Die Luftoffensive gegen die deutsche Triebstoffindustrie und der Abwehreinsatz 1944-1945" by Werner Girbig (also published as "Mit Kurs auf Leuna")
Lists all the attacks against the German fuel industry in the last two years of the war. Similar to the Wiki page that Ed linked to, but contains detailed accounts of approx. 30 major raids, including maps and listings of the Luftwaffe units involved (at the Gruppe level) with their losses and claims. The focus is on the aerial encounters, but the narrative also mentions how each raid affected production capacity. Includes a couple of graphs showing the negative correlation between fuel production and bomb tonnage dropped.

2) "Germany and the Second World War, Volume VII" by Horst Boog, et al.
Part I (453 pages) covers the strategic air war in Europe, with about 20 pages devoted to the transport and fuel offensives. Good overview, with a large bibliography.

3) "Der Luftkrieg" by Georg Feuchter
Just a handful of pages on the oil offensive, but he does provide monthly fuel production figures for 1944 and 1945.

Hope that helps,
Leon Venter

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Leon,

Thanks for the further suggestions.

In looking over the Wikipedia list, it appears that attacking the oil industry was very much an ongoing effort throughout the war. To some extent, it was a whack-a-mole job, bomb, then rebomb, then rebomb again as the Germans expended much manpower to return to production as quickly as possible.

The question that must have given the bombing planners nightmares was whether they could actually drive oil production down. The cost in Allied planes and airmen expended must have been phenominal and the question as to whether the cost could be justified must have been constantly raised.

The politics of this, the infighting for where truly to expend the airborne efforts, the reanalyses, the assessments, all must have been fascinating history. Note here that, while the actual attacks and details thereof are of importance, I'm trying to get a higher view, a strategic view, not just how many bombs dropped on a target, how many bombers returned, and how many Luftwaffe fighters were lost. It is the sum of these and the effects over time that I was hoping to find covered in a book.

Truly, by early 1945, German oil production was pretty well squashed, which then meant that both air offensive actions and vehicle movements would have been severely curtailed, a major factor in the winding down of the war.

Reports by the Germans in 1945 provided to me by my friend Manfred Boehme show the true limitations the Germans had to face. Hard choices had to be made and there was a certain amount of resignation in these documents. Not so much of a "we give up", but more a matter of factness that resources were very limited and, as I said, hard choices were being made.

I've had this interest in the effort and effect of the oil campaign for some time, but my recent reading on the German rail transportation system has made me a bit hungry to find a comparable book covering oil. There was also a very strong desire on the part of the strategic bombing chiefs to prove that Germany could be defeated from the air. This was brought out in the rail book and likely would be equally brought out in a book on the oil campaign.

Sheepishly, I must admit that I am not fluent in German, so something in English would be preferred. I can get a sense of what is being said in German, but to really know I've got it requires the translation engines, multiple dictionaries, and some familiarization with the language to do a proper translation job. Even then, it isn't perfect.

So, if anyone else has some suggestions, please keep them coming.

Regards,
Richard

[taitbb]

I have been reading the attached pdf, very fascinating stuff. Compiled immediately postwar.

'Oil as a Factor in the German War Effort, 1933-1945'



http://www.scribd.com/doc/39576251/O...fort-1933-1945

Foreword.
This Report is an account of Germany's oil economy from 1933 up to the
time of her defeat. Its compilation is the result of the work of three groups :
the Technical Sub-Committee on Axis Oil, which has been responsible for
reporting upon Germany's oil position since 1942; the Oil Committee of the
Combined Strategic Targets Committee, which assisted in the direction of the
Allied air offensive against oil targets; and the Inter-Departmental Bombing
Survey.
The compilers of the report have had access to all the relevant records so far
available, have interrogated German officials and have examined many of the
bombed targets. The facts thus obtained have provided a record of the efforts
made by the Germans to safeguard their oil supplies, of the success of the Allies
in destroying the sources of production, and of the extent to which shortage of
oil is reported to have influenced military operations.
The Report attempts to summarise the evidence now available on these
questions so that those in possession of similar evidence on all the other factors
involved may put in its correct perspective the part oil played in the military
defeat of Germany.

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear taitbb,

This may be what I am looking for. Hopefully, it has the charts that show the effects over time of Allied bombing on oil production. I did go to the site but, when I went to download the book, it showed up as an .exe rather than a .pdf, a no-no in my book. I got locked in and had to hit my computer's power button to get loose.

But, with the title, I did find a hard copy on Amazon, so ordered this, instead.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Richard

[taitbb]

Sorry, i just attached the first link i found.

Scribd is much better.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/39576251/O...fort-1933-1945

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear taitbb,

New web address just about as bad as the other. This time, an unending pile of downloads before actually getting to the document. Fortunately, I was able to bail out without having to shut down my computer.

Anyway, I got the book coming from Amazon, which is my preferred reading method. Anything long, I'd print off and, with so many pages, the expense of the ink would be worse than the cost of a book. I'm a diehard fan of physical books.

Regards,
Richard

[Frank Olynyk]

Richard,
I would suggest:

Targetting the Third Reich: Air Intelligence and the Allied Bombing Campaigns. by Robert S Ehlers, Jr. University Press of Kansas. 2009. Covers the war 1939-45. 350 pages of text, 48 pages of footnote text, 7 pages of bibliography.

I found it excellent. A very good description of the background of the oil and transportation campaigns, and the positive impact of the one upon the other. Covers Bomber Command, 8th and 15th Air Forces, with emphasis on BC and 8thAF.

Enjjoy!

Frank.